Whether it is a painting of her grandmother’s strength or a mural painted by farmworking youth, each piece carries the same weight: identity, healing and hope.
From her portraits to her programs with children, Yanez is blending culture and community, proving that art can be both deeply personal and profoundly transformative for Santa Maria.
— Crystal Bermudez
“As someone who grew up studying contemporary European styles and viewing art through that lens, Yanez said she tries to decolonize art through her illustrations. ”
— Reece Coren
Nueva serie del INEHRM que tiene como objetivo visibilizar las voces de las mujeres. Desde temas como la migración, hasta las dificultades políticas que oprimen a las mujeres, este podcast analizará desde una perspectiva de género la resistencia de estas voces. Invitada: Helen Yañez, mujer migrante y artista, originaria de Michocán y actualmente artista y activista de la cultura purépecha en el estado de California.
Locución: Paola Suárez
Identidad gráfica: Gabriela Barrientos
Edición: Andrea Chong y Ana Salinas
Narración: Natalia Luna Investigación
Musical: María Fernanda Minero
““A lot of my art is about showing the reality of our Brown and Indigenous communities,” she explained. “It’s not about romanticizing suffering but about honoring the truth of what people experience, especially farm-working families.””
“Today she uses both to create art for herself and others by commission, through her job as a freelance illustrator. Between that and her role as art program manager at Corazón del Pueblo in Santa Maria, Yanez’s life is wall-to-wall art, so to speak.”
— Caleb Wiseblood